The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-11-19
WATERS IN ST. LOUIS.
Methods Of Ambitious Knights
of the Napkin.
A FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION.
Graduates of Oxford and NobIemen
Who Wash Dishes, Wait at Table
and Pocket Big Fees.

| 1Ou WOulu DC SuTpTlSSu, slI, IT,
marked the head waiter of a leading
hotel to reporter, Ito find the sort of
people who present themselves to us
head walters for positions. You couldn't
tell some of them from real gentlemen,
they are so handsome, and polished in
their manners. Only the other day
man presented himself at the door of
the dining room. He was tall, stout,
finely formed, and as digniied as a
prince. bowed as he approached and
was about to conduct him to seat al
the tables, for was convinced that he
was foreign .noblsman. Are you the
head waiter?' he asked. 1 All, sir I
replied; pray, of what service can be
tc your Give me position, said he.
L am waiter, and 1 came from Sara
toga."
81 would nave been more surprised
than l was if had not often had appli-
cations from men of similar bearing"
| Ibid you employ the felloWP"
| ."Oh, certainly, aud an exceptionally
good waiter he has turned out. He is
in demand all over the dining room,
and the ladies are particularly fond of
having him wait upon them. He is
graduate from Oxford University, and
/ talks Greek with the fluency of an Athe-
Man. We have Greek scholars in the
house-one of them professor-Rnd l
have been told that his Greek and Latin
are unusually fine. One night he gave
i the help in the hotel a reading and
one of his selections was a chapter of
| Virgil. He was applauded so vigorously
for this that questioned nay men con-
corning their knowledge of Latin, and
was surprised to find that quite num-
Der of them were acquainted with the
dead languages. Nearly all my men
speak French and German, and those Il
them who have not received good
schooling are in the minority.
You must know that there is 20
trade organization SO compact and
fraternal as that of the hotel walters.
They are good hearted fellows, as a
rule, and will never see one of their
kind want for anything that they can
supply. Those in position supply those
who are out of it, and nobody is a whit
the wiser. Masonry itself is outdone bv
their regard for this rule of duty"
/ Are the unemployed walters who are
! here now supported III this way?"
They are mostly. Nearly all of the
recent arrivals came here too soon, and
whatever they brought with them
quickly disappeared. Their condition
/ was made known to the other walters
at once, and the latter supplied them
With means to secure lodging and
enough change to keep them alive"
l. How much does 1t cost to keep pn
| unemployed waiter alive and cheerful? ?"
(
they generally are. 4 smart man
| whose room rent has been paid can live
gloriously on 10 cents day. There are
saloons IL this city, both north AID
south, which supply an IL clock lunch |
fit for any mans meal. In the bill OF |
fare are two or three kinds of hot mat. |
potatoes fried, stewed and in salad !
form, tomatoes, chickt n croquet'es, cold !
slaw, pickles, mustard, beets, etc. All |
man need to do to entitle him to a
hack at this magnificent hungry mans
banquet is to purchase one glass of
beer"
"But man can't have much fun ON
one meal day, can her"
He doesn't reed to confine himself to
one meal. He has still cents left, and
with this he can purchase one beer later
on"
The unemployed napkin artists DOW
in the city, attracted by the exposition
and Its accompanying festivities, are
certainly sorry looking lot, notwi;h
standing their sumptuous living. Their
coats are threadbare, and their toes,
when not peeping forth from their
boots, are struggling to get there.
Despite the fraternal care With which
their more fortunate co.Isborers regard :
them, they are not appetizng to look
upon. But one-half, at least, of these
Will be shortly engaged to 'help out at
the leading hotels. Few will be able to
recognize in the smooth shaven model
IN boiled shirt, spotless cravat, real cuffs
and cutaway, the wretch who is to -dsy
haunting the free lunch counters, grasp.
ing at whatever comes within range of
his watery vision.
There isn't labor union in the
country that takes half the care If its
own that the walters do OF theirs. Oc-
caslonally they are economical and put
their earnings away, but the great 1
majority spend freely and give away
what they can't spend. Like most peo-
pie IN their walk of life, they are imita-
ave, and the conversation of guests at
The table is rarely lost upon them. A
irst class waiter can listen without ap-
bearing to, but he misses little that is
worth remem bering. Often when we
awe had distinguished guests at table,
have heard their speeches rehearsed
md d1ssected in the kitchen. Sometimes
have heard The argument of promin-
mt statesman torn to shreds by the fell
oW who was waiting to I'LL his order be. :
lind the SCREEN" :
Where do most of your walters come
romP"
They come mostly from Europe, al 7
hough it is only once in while we get :
me direct from abroad here in St.
1ouis. The first stopping place for
7aiters is New York, but they are :,
owing set and can't rest even there. As r
con as they begin to hear of the +
lorious west they take off their aprons
nd start. Sometimes they come west
i sleepers and sometimes in box cars. {
ut they get here just the same Once =
a while man comes along and asks
1r work who has seen better days.
-mong these are not lemen and college